


Importance of Truth.

by RedStarFiction



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jamie and Fergus, Lallybroch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 10:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5045197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedStarFiction/pseuds/RedStarFiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my first work of fan-fic and concerns Jamie and Fergus as the father/son dynamic developed during the period when they returned from France.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Importance of Truth.

Jamie stopped and listened, he could hear the boys close by, voices raised in excitement. Fergus’ voice floated back to him on the breeze, high and clear and accented in his unique fusion of French and Scot.  
“If ye grab him quickly, Monsieur Serpent canna bite ye.”  
“Do it yeself then!”  
Another voice answered, it had to be Rabbie. Jamie closed his eyes and grimaced to himself, praying that the snake would scarper. He wasn’t exactly afraid of them, but the creatures unnerved him.  
“Non. Ye found him mon amie, ye pick him up!”  
“I can do it!”  
Jamie recognised his name-sakes voice. That settled the matter, if one of the older lads was foolish enough to get bitten; he could take them to Claire for a dose of one of her foul wee potions and call it a lesson learned, if wee Jamie got bitten, Jenny would never forgive him for not intervening. He strode forward quickly, heading towards the voices, not troubling to be quiet as he pushed through the bracken.  
“No one touch that snake!”  
“A Diah! Mr Fraser! Ye scared it off!”  
Rabbie cried as Jamie emerged in front of them. Jamie raised an eye brow at him  
“Aye good! Ye ken better than to be playing around wi’ snakes! And are ye no’ supposed to be tending to Mrs Murray’s garden?”  
Rabbie ducked his head guiltily.  
“Aye, but it is mostly done.”  
“Mostly done is no’ the same as done.”  
Jamie folded his arms and gave Rabbie a look that the boy was determined not to acknowledge as he continued to study his boots.  
“Aye.”  
He mumbled and Jamie turned to Fergus  
“And am I to believe the fence is fully mended already?”  
“Oh I’m waiting for the wood to dry from last night’s petit … ah … wee rainfall.”  
Fergus grinned triumphantly but Jamie wasn’t going to be dissuaded that easily.  
“Does the wood feel wet?”  
“Oh yes Milord! Very!”  
Fergus nodded encouragingly and Jamie smiled grimly at him.  
“Funny, I didna think it did when I went to see how ye were getting on a few minutes ago.”  
Fergus’ grin faded and was replaced with a look of mild anxiety. Wandering off from work was one thing but lying to Himself was something else entirely.  
“Ah … it must have dried.”  
He shrugged weakly.  
“Mmmphhm.”  
Jamie looked down his nose at the boy and Fergus hunched his shoulders defensively as Jamie continued to scold him.  
“Also what sort of fool advice is it, to tell someone to grab a snake?!”  
“But it is true Milord! I saw a snake charmer in Paris do just that.”  
Fergus said indignantly and Jamie rolled his eyes in exasperation.  
“Are any of ye snake charmers?”  
“Well we’ll never ken now!”  
Rabbie shrugged making Jamie smile despite his irritation.  
Seeing his uncle smile and realising they couldn’t be in terrible trouble, wee Jamie who had been sidling back between the two older boys took a running jump at Jamie, who caught him and swept him up with ease.  
“The snake was HUGE!”  
“Aye? And what will ye Mam make o’ that then?”  
Jamie asked, transferring his nephew to his shoulders.  
Wee Jamie giggled and raised a finger to his lips  
“Shhh. Dinna tell Mama.”  
“Aye that may be best.”  
Jamie agreed ruefully as the little boy took a fistful of hair to keep his balance.  
“I need to take wee Jamie back to his mam before she goes mad wi’ worry and I daresay she’ll wish to skelp the two o’ ye herself for taking him off wi’ ye; so ye have a choice: Ye can get back to what ye were supposed to be doin’ and take your chances wi’ Mrs Murray later, or ye can meet me by the gate and I can inform her the matter is being settled.”  
Fergus and Rabbie both considered it for a moment and then Fergus sighed.  
“We’ll wait for ye by the gate Milord. It will be better to get it o’er with and not have to put Mrs Murray to the trouble.”  
Jamie smothered a laugh with an unconvincing cough and nodded.  
“Verra gallant o’ ye Fergus. I’ll be there as soon as Jamie is back wi’ his Mam, aye?”  
“Aye.”  
Both boys answered and followed in Jamie’s wake as he led them back towards Lallybroch. 

They reached the gate and Jamie put his nephew down the other side of it and was climbing over himself just as Jenny came hurtling out of the kitchen door.  
“JAMES!”  
At the sound of her voice both named parties looked guiltily in her direction, eyes wide and mouths faintly down-turned and Jenny couldn’t supress a smile.  
“Wee James.”  
She clarified, as she reached them and frowned at her son, hands on hips.  
“Hello Mama.”  
He smiled up at her and Jenny fixed him with a distinctly Fraser stare  
“Where have ye been, ye wee rascal?”  
Wee Jamie looked up at his mother with huge eyes, opened his mouth and then pressed his lips firmly shut. Jenny raised an eyebrow at him and he giggled, burying his face in her skirts.  
“He was wi’ us Mrs Murray.”  
Rabbie volunteered and Jenny turned her flinty gaze to him.  
“Oh? And where was that? Because it certainly wasn’t in my garden and I have told ye to call me Jenny – dinna be putting on heirs in front of Himself, he willna save ye …”  
Jenny picked her son up and pushed past Jamie to set eyes on Fergus who had slipped behind him, concealed from view.  
“…Or ye Fergus! Dinna think I havena heard that the fence is still a state. Come in wi’ me, NOW!”  
“Ah Milord …?”  
Fergus tugged anxiously on Jamie’s sleeve.  
“Oh … er … well I told them I would see to matters…”  
Jamie said tentatively but Jenny was in no mood to be side-stepped.  
“Did ye then?”  
She huffed getting a handle on her temper as Jamie nodded, visibly bracing himself for an unpleasant duty.  
“Aye, they ken they’ve done wrong, I’ll see to it that they’re punished.”  
Jenny saw her brothers hand flit towards his belt and she sighed.  
“Weel good,”  
She gave the boys one last glare and then relented, the last of her temper fading away.  
“But no harm is done and this wee loon is home safe.”  
She boosted wee Jamie a little higher in her arms and kissed his nose  
“Dinna fash o’er it Jamie.”  
Fergus and Rabbie stole a glance at each other and wordlessly shifted their allegiance to Jenny.  
“We’re that sorry Mrs … Jenny. I’ll finish ye garden now and feed the chickens wi’ wee Jamie after lunch if ye like?”  
Rabbie offered sweetly, stubbornly ignoring Jamie’s snort of amusement behind him.  
“Aye, ye can and ye can sweep out the goats too.”  
Jenny retorted, but wrapped an arm around his skinny shoulders and planted a quick kiss on his head.  
Fergus stepped around Jamie and was about to make his own peace offering when a large hand caught the back of his shirt and tugged him firmly back.  
Fergus looked up at Jamie, who was looking grimly down at him, his jaw set resolutely.  
“Ye and I have a wee matter to settle between us still.”  
“Milord?”  
“Truth is truth Fergus, ye lied to me and I mean to hold ye accountable.”  
Jamie heard the echo of his own father’s voice in his words and felt a soft pulse of warmth in his chest as he looked at his unofficially-adopted son.  
Fergus did not seem to be experiencing the same good feeling toward him as his momentary confusion settled into a sulk.  
Jenny raised an eyebrow at her brother, putting her own son down and smoothing her skirts. Jamie nodded slightly toward the house and taking her cue Jenny ushered the boys forward.  
“Right Rabbie, ye need to be getting on if ye want to be finished in time for lunch, because I willna be saving ye any if not!”  
Jamie waited until they had disappeared around the side of the house before letting go of Fergus’ shirt and squatting down in front of him. He hadn’t had to strap the boy since the incident with Claire in France and it was not something he particularly wanted to do now.  
“Ye ken what I mean to do?”  
“Yes Milord.”  
Fergus nodded and bit his bottom lip not looking at Jamie.  
“Ye understand why?”  
“Yes Milord.”  
Jamie sighed and tipped the boys chin to make him look at him.  
“Fergus I ken ye have not truly known family before now and this is no’ one of the more pleasant aspects of it I grant ye,”  
Fergus offered him a weak smile and Jamie’s own lip quirked upward in response.  
“But I need ye to understand that the rules ye may have lived by in France are not the rules ye will live by here and honesty is important.”  
Fergus nodded solemnly  
“Yes Milord.”  
Jamie wanted nothing more than to call the matter settled and not for the first time since taking Fergus in, it occurred to him how his own father must have felt when faced with Jamie’s misdeeds.  
“I am no’ your father by blood, but I do care for ye, verra much and I am going to beat ye because ye have done wrong, the same as my Da did wi’ me when I was a lad; but I want ye to ken that I dinna enjoy it and it doesna change the love I hold for ye.”  
Fergus threw his arms around Jamie’s neck, surprisingly strong for such a small boy and hid his face in Jamie’s shoulder, momentarily overcome.  
“Thank you Milord.”  
He sniffed and Jamie hugged him tightly back before disentangling them and standing to unbuckle his belt.  
“Right. Lets get it o’er with. We’ll not worry about the work ye chose not to do but ye’ll get six for the lie.”  
Fergus grimaced and clambered onto the gate, unfastening his breeks. Struck by a sudden thought he turned to face Jamie  
“Have you taken into account that I was telling the truth about the snake charmer in Paris, Milord?”  
Jamie grinned at him and nodded  
“Aye, otherwise it would be ten.”  
“Ah … half of ten is only five Milord and you said six …”  
“I can count thank ye Fergus,”  
Jamie took a deep breath but he couldn’t hold it against the lad for trying.  
“Alright. Five it is then, but another word from ye…”  
Fergus hastily, and silently, bent over and Jamie dealt out his justice swiftly.  
The ensuing yelps had brought Claire from her room and she stepped into the courtyard as Jamie lifted Fergus down and tugged up his breeks for modesty. The boy turned and buried his face in Jamie’s shirt but pulled away at the sound of Claire’s footsteps.  
Fergus dashed a hand across his eyes and smiled gamely at her.  
“Hello Milady.”  
Claire offered him a handkerchief and smiled back  
“Rough day?”  
She looked at him sympathetically and Fergus shook his head  
“Non. Milord was teaching me the importance of truth in all things.”  
“Ah an important lesson, although if you’re free now I do rather need help with ensuring the scones I baked this morning are suitable for human consumption.”  
Fergus’ face lit up momentarily but he shook his head.  
“I am afraid I have other work to do. I have not yet mended the fence.”  
Claire looked at Jamie and he gave her a warning look, clearly sensing her intent to undermine a lesson already begun. She considered doing it anyway for a moment, she hated seeing Fergus upset, but decided against it as it wouldn’t be fair to detract meaning from a punishment he had already endured.  
“I see, well then, run inside and get one to take with you, and then you can report back to me later, agreed?”  
“Yes Milady!”  
Fergus beamed and took off at a run.  
Claire turned to her husband, who was looking at her; arms folded, his belt still dangling from his left hand and raised both eyebrows  
“I’m sorry; did the lesson also involve starvation?”  
She teased  
“No, but it didna involve spoiling the lad either,”  
Jamie grinned, catching her hand and pulling her in towards him.  
“Though maybe it is not spoiling him too much seeing as last time I had one of your scones I thought I had cracked a tooth …”  
He broke off laughing as Claire slapped his arm  
“Careful Sassenach, I’m an armed man.”  
He warned, playfully smacking the belt against his wife’s behind.  
“Lucky I’m protected by an oath then.”  
Claire retorted, twining her arms around his neck.  
“Protected from certain things aye, not everything …”  
Jamie growled, running his teeth along her earlobe.  
Claire pulled back and keeping hold of his hand, towed him toward the house.  
“Why don’t you show me what I am and am not protected from…”  
She smiled. The door banged behind them and Fergus came barrelling past, two scones in hand and his mouth full  
“I took a couple to be sure Milady, I’ll report back soon!”  
He called, waving and Claire took a few steps after him, concern marking her face  
“Be careful! And don’t run with your mouthful!”  
She called and Jamie rolled his eyes at her, impatiently scooping her up into his arms delighting in her whoop of surprise as he carried her into the house.  
“Ye fuss o’er the lads like a wee hen with her chicks Sassenach, but right now yon rooster needs tending.”  
“Oh dear! And how does he need tending?”  
“Don’t worry, I’ll show ye.”  
Jamie promised.  
Claire smiled, stroking his cheek, mentally cancelling the other plans she had made for the morning and readying for her own lesson.


End file.
